SC Student Excellence is the web presence of the Challenging Horizons Programs of South Carolina that include CHP after-school programs, CHP summer programs, and the Marlboro County Youth Empowerment Program and Supplemental Education Services. These programs are directed by Dr. Bradley H. Smith of the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina.

 

The Challenging Horizons Program (CHP) is an award-winning, evidence-based after-school program for students with learning or behavior challenges. Click here for more information about CHP, including program details, history, and current CHP sites.

 

The Marlboro County Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) is based on the CHP model that has been adopted and adapted by residents of Marlboro County South Carolina to meet the unique challenges of their community, particularly related to improving health, promoting academic success, engaging youth in positive community activities, and promoting career development.  In 2009, the YEP was approved as a Supplemental Services Provider for the State of South Carolina.  Click here for more information about YEP, including program details, history, and current YEP sites.

Each semester the CHP engages dozens of USC students through service-learning experiences that meet an important community need and prepare students for professional careers. Graduate students under Dr. Smith’s direction take major roles in providing day-to-day services and conducting research on innovations or additions to the program.  Undergraduates serve as mentors, program staff, and program innovators.  If you are interested in learning more about student opportunities in the CHP, please click here.

To contact our staff, click here.


 

Challenging Horizons Program Staff Members

The success and sustainability of the CHP is based on a low student-to-staff ratio made possible by service-learning students. In the CHP, the student-to-staff ratio varies across activities. An experienced teacher can provide group instruction at a 12:1 ratio. More intensive staffing is required for other activities such as study time, reading, and writing. In these activities, many students need significant individual attention with ratios of 6:1, 3:1, or 1:1. For instance, students in the CHP program should each get at least one hour of individual, one-on-one attention each week. This staffing pattern makes the CHP a uniquely individualized after-school program that has produced measurable results that have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and recognized for innovation by the After-School Alliance.

The major staff positions at all CHP programs include:

          • Program Director
          • Assistant Program Director
          • Site supervisors
          • Teachers
          • CHP Staff
          • CHP Mentors

At some programs we have:

          • Family Consultants
          • Life guards and Swimming instructors
          • Junior Counselors


Program Director
Bradley H. Smith, Ph.D.

Dr. Bradley H. Smith has been working with youth since he graduated from Hamilton College in 1993. In his first two years out of college he worked in the therapeutic Eckerd Family Wilderness Camping Program. This left a lasting impression on the importance of providing novel, small group experiences for youth with learning or behavior challenges. From 1986 to 1988, he worked on a Masters Degree in Psychology at Connecticut College. During this time, he focused on health psychology and was the assistant lacrosse coach of the men’s varsity intercollegiate team. This helped to develop his interest in providing programs with a strong emphasis on health and fitness. From 1989 to 1993, he lived in Tucson Arizona and pursued a Ph.D. in psychology, which he earned in 1996. While at the University of Arizona, he developed a strong interest in family therapy and clinical research methods. From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Smith directed the adolescent program in the ADD clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. This involved running a summer program for adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This summer program experience with Drs. William E. Pelham, Jr., Steven Evans, and Brook Molina paved the way for the development of the CHP. From 1996 to 1998, Dr. Smith was a post-doctoral researcher at the Research Institute on Addictions in Buffalo, New York, where he developed a program of research on the relationship between ADHD and substance use. He joined the faculty at USC in 1998 and started the CHP in 2001. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, Director of the Clinical-Community Graduate training program, an active member of the School Psychology graduate training program, a member of the Research Consortium on Children and Families, co-chair of the Carolina Service-Learning Initiative, and chair of the Faculty Committee on Instructional Development.


Assistant Program Director

John Terry became the first assistant program director on the CHP in 2009, when the CHP expanded from two schools with 40 students each to five schools with over 400 students. Mr. Terry supervises the programs at Irmo Middle School, Leaphart Elmentary School, and Hyatt Part Elementary School. He has been working with the CHP since his sophomore year at USC. In his senior year at USC, he was a Magellan Scholar and studied self-efficacy coaching, which research suggests is an effective enhancement to Peer Assisted Learning Strategies. Since graduating from USC in 2007, he has been working full time in the CHP, taking graduate classes, writing grants and research papers with Dr. Smith, and volunteering to provide activities for low-income youth.


Site Supervisors

Site supervisors ensure the quality of the day-to-day activities of the CHP, including planning activities, scheduling staff and activities, obtaining program materials, and training and supervising staff. Site supervisors are the primary point of contact for parents, and are assisted at some sites by Family Consultants and Assistant Site Supervisors. Site supervisors have two or more years of experience with the CHP, two or more years of college education, and strong leadership and organization skills. See individual sites for more information on current site supervisors.


Teachers

Teachers in the CHP and YEP programs provide direct instruction to small groups of students, typically fewer than 12 at a time. Teachers are usually assisted by a classroom aide, a trained CHP staff member who provides behavioral support and instructional assistance.


CHP Staff

Most staff in the CHP begin as volunteers or service-learning students. For example, students may enroll in Psychology 489 (the Community Psychology Practicum) with Dr. Smith. All staff complete 12 hours of training, that includes learning a detailed manual, memorizing operational definitions of behaviors, practicing procedures in role plays, and passing a written test on program knowledge. All staff members must also be cleared to work with students according to school district procedures that require background checks. During their first semester in the CHP, new staff may take an apprentice role and primarily assist senior CHP staff or teachers with providing activities. As CHP staff members develop, they take on greater responsibility, most importantly in helping to develop and deliver CHP enrichment activities as activity leaders. Most service-learning students serve two afternoons per week. Most paid CHP staff have at least one year of experience with the CHP and work 4 to 5 afternoons a week.


CHP Mentors

One of the most promising innovations in the CHP in the last few years is the creation of mentoring programs. The mentoring programs were pioneered by USC alumni John Terry, Devin Waldrop, and Tyler Greer. Current USC students working on mentoring include Gill Strait, Sam McQuillin, Jason Bird, and Mary Katherine Wampler. The mentoring programs caught the attention of the National After School Alliance, which lead to the CHP receiving the MetLife Foundation After-School Innovators Award.

Mentors usually work about one hour a week with one specific student. Some mentoring programs focus on individual goals, some focus on academic skills and self-efficacy, and others focus on making successful transitions from elementary to middle school. Typical mentors are service-learning students from USC taking classes such as University 101, PSYC 487 (Community Psychology), PSYC 430 (Social Psychology), or EDTE 400. However, we have increasing numbers of community volunteers serving as mentors, such as dozens of members of the Midtown Fellowship who are serving as mentors at Hyatt Park Elementary School. Mentors learn a manual, receive two hours of training, and must be cleared by appropriate background checks required by school districts.


Family Consultant

A key staff position in the YEP is the Family Consultant, Mr. Richard Dixon, who is a retired school principal and long-time member of the Bennettsville community. Mr. Dixon works with school administrators and parents to facilitate communication and solve problems that may come up for specific youth in the program. Mr. Dixon also identifies and coordinates family learning events, such as parent open houses and health fairs.


Life Guards and Swim Instructors

The S.W.I.M. (Students With Intelligent Minds) program at Conder Elementary School provides students with the opportunity to go swimming each Tuesday. Certified life guards and swim instructors (no certification necessary) are needed to volunteer to make this unique part of the program a success. Please contact Shannon Duvall (smlduvall@gmail.com) if you are interested in being a life guard or swim instructor in the CHP.


Junior Counselors

Another recent development in the YEP and CHP is involving junior counselors in the program. Junior counselors are high school students who have been recommended by two teachers and their school principal to work in the after-school or summer program. Junior Counselors are trained to assist with a variety of activities in the program, including homework help, one-on-one reading, math games, healthy eating, and physical education. In the spirit of service-learning, we work with the junior counselors to identify activities or projects in the program that contribute to the learning of both the elementary and high school students. Currently, students from Marlboro County High School are serving at Bennettsville Elementary School. Soon, students from the Horizon Academic Magnet Program in Richland Northeast High School will be assisting at Conder Elementary School. If you would like to start a junior counselor program, please contact us.